Here Now
by Naniohcashanioh
Summary: Emma makes her way to a small town called Storybrooke after some complications in her life. She decided to stay, seeing as she has nowhere to go, but the town has many secrets. Will this scare her away, or will she unearth the mystery and a certain brunette's heart with it?
1. Chapter 1

Blonde hair swayed lightly in a pony tail as Emma's head bobbed along to the static music blaring out of the radio of her yellow Volkswagen. A soft hum could be heard rising from the blondes throat. She'd causally and quickly throw her head back to check if her old thick remmed glasses hasn't fallen to be the abyss of her bottomless car, every now and then.

Despite her best effort to keep a happy non-caring personality, she still wanted to crawl into a ball, clutch her fist together, and let darkness consume her. She could feel the heavy bolder weighing on her chest from the day that her life, the part of it that seemed to be the only good left, was shattered into a million pieces, never to be put back again.

The music eventually grew more staticy and began to blend in with the new beating rain drops. She mumbled a few curse words and switched the radio off, and just quietly listened to the beat of the rain, keeping her eyes locked with the road at all times.

The rain seemed to come more rapidly now, and a couple a loud booms could be heard from a distance. Even though the storm only seemed to get worse, Emma didn't teeter and kept driving. She had no idea where she was heading, but anywhere far away from Phoenix seemed like a great place to live.

She's been driving for a couple of days now, maybe even a week. Every now and then stopping for gas, food or a nap, but other than that it was full force driving mode. No directions or nothing, just a pull in her gut. A feeling that she should head this way. A feeling she was getting closer to much more then a new start. But she ignored these thoughts knowing the disappointment that would lead.

The road she was on looked like it was going on forever with only leaves and unknown forest to accompany it, but through the watery windshield she could nearly make out a stone sign. She couldn't decipher the words, but with another look at a crack of lightning and a powerful boom of thunder she thought it would be best to stop and rest.

She pushed the gas peddle down heavier, and tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she crossed the town's line. For a flash second, a small tiny insignificant second that ticked by on a clock, she felt a full frontal wave of energy crash into her like lightning had came and whipped her, but this was so much more. With that wave of energy brought emotions. Emotions that she had thought to buried deep beneath her soul. Sadness, pain, anger, and things she had sworn she never experienced truly before, but as fast as it came, it left even quicker, leaving her back to the shell she was.

Emma swiftly shook the urge in her soul to think about what that was and what it meant, but instead brushed it off and told herself it was from driving to long. Though it remained in the back of her brain trying to push itself foward and deliver a message of great importance.

She squinted her eyes to make out a sign that said something about a bed and breakfast. Emma gently parked the car over between two faded white lines. Taking a deep breath in and out before steeping out of the car and hurrying through the beating water and in through the rustic doors.

"Hello!" She called out and tried brushing the rain off onto the red carpet beneath her. The room had a dark wooden desk and a matching door behind it, and to the side was a staircase. She heard a slight tumble and shoes clicks before a tall brunette with red streaks running in a strip of her hair came out of the door behind the desk. The brunette wore jeans shorts way to tight and way to little, with a crop top that cut off a couple of inches above the bellybutton.

The brunette stared at her with curiosity, like inspecting a frog before dissecting it. "Umm... Hi, do you have a spare room." Emma smiled nervously while toying with her coat.

"You want a room... here." The red streaked brunette stared at her in disbelief, before shaking her head and continuing. "I mean yeah... you have money right?" Emma felt the other girls eyes now roaming over her dingy clothes.

"Yup." The blonde nodded nonchalantly.

"Great." The brunette started to fidget around with a large book on the dark wooden desk. "So how long do you plan on staying... Umm what's your name?"

"Emma, and not sure. Just put me down for tonight." Emma answered unsure if she'd even stay the night.

"Well my name's Ruby. Usually this place is run by my Granny, but she's recovering from a heart attack right now." Ruby said in a tight voice and started to pull out a key. "Your room is right up those stairs, first door to the right.

She handed Emma the key, and once again Emma felt a spark emotions ignite, not as much as before, but still a spark.

Realizing a that she was still holding the key looking at it, Emma mumbled a thanks and started her way up the staircase lugging her tried body with it. Driving all those hours tried her out, so now nothing sounded more appealing then jumping on a bed and forgetting everything for sleep.

She followed the brunette's directions and found her new temporary place. It was a whole lot better then a lot of places she had stayed in. The bed had simple white sheets that were a little scratchy, but other than that comfy. The walls had a clean beige white color painted on it. It even had a bathroom and closet.

Emma walked over to the bed in a zombie-like state and crashed straight into the pillows. Letting her eyes close, she drifted off to sleep.

 _There were two brunettes, each on the other side of Emma. They were in a dark room that seemed to be disintegrating before Emma's eyes. The faces were a blur, but she could make out a few features. The brunette to her right had a white gown that had lace at the very tip at the end, and the other had a purple dress that was so low cut it could kill._

 _The brunette to her right was crying... no more like frantic sobbing. She heard the sorrowful brunette scream her name. "Emma, Emma, Emma!" Each time getting more panic and even slamming her hands down on the stone cold floor._

 _It tugged and pulled at the strings of her heart. For some reason she wanted to and comfort the woman and tell her she was here._

 _She turned her attention to the other brunette who for a moment their eyes locked and the woman tilted her head in curiosity, studying Emma._

 _Colors began swirl together and the scenery was changing. She was no longer in a dark cold dissipating room, but near a fire place sitting on a leather couch. The brunette in white had vanished, but the other one sat across from her with a predatory smirk. She seemed to get closer and closer to Emma until she sat on her lap._

 _The mysterious brunette drew her index finger lightly against Emma's skin. Her hips began to sway into circles. She started to kiss the blondes neck and nibbling at her ear. Emma searched for words, but came out with nothing. The woman moved to the younger girls lips and pressed gently onto them. Her tongue seemed to slip in with ease, and teased her as she went._

 _The woman became more aggressive and needy. She started to suck harder were she kissed, and clawing for more. She forcefully grabbing the blondes hands and intertwines them with her own forcing them on the back of the couch. Her body pressed deeper, and hips searched desperately for more friction and heat. Tongue swiping the bottom of her lips, before biting down on Emma's. She lean in close and began kissing Emma's neck again._

 _"Mine." A dark, seductive, and sultry voice whispered in a hot breath against Emma's neck._

Emma's eyes snapped open and the upper part of her body sprang up from the shock of her dream. Breath heavy and a heat in lower abdomen she crawled out of bed to go take a cold shower.

Her mind floating back to dream every couple of seconds, only to be scolded and told to be focused on b


	2. Chapter 2

"One hot cocoa with cinnamon." The blonde called out to the red streaked waiter from behind the the counter.

"Coming right up." The lanky brunette winked and walked off, with a sway in her hips, to serve a table across the diner near a window.

Emma swerved in the red cushioned chair, keeping her eyes trained trained to the counter, and elbow rested on the top of it, in a hopes of not bringing attention to her. Her mind would tugged back to the mysterious dream and the gut feeling in her chest, but was quickly overthrown by more prescient matters, like how would she make any money or was she even going to stay? Emma's thoughts were brought to a halt when a loud irritated 'Ahem' grabbed her attention. She carelessly flipped her head to see a vaguely familiar woman standing behind her with short ebony hair and a so-not-pleased-look.

"Your in my seat." The woman, who looked like she was some classical musician or politician with the fancy clothes she was wearing, said with a scowl on her face, and Emma had a small shock of disbelief that the lady, with perfect posture that even the queen of the UK would kill for, was so crossed over such a tiny childish thing has to where she sat. The entire seating section was almost completely empty, except for one guy who looked like he was getting down from a nasty hangover.

After a moment of silence, full of Emma's disbelief look and the other woman's scrutiny, of such child like thing face. the dark haired lady continued. "I sit there every day, and it has become part my daily routine." The woman flashed a fake smile. "So if you wouldn't mind to moving."

"There are plenty of others seats." Emma grumbles slight irritation arising in her voice. She holds her hand out in the direction of all the barren seats to the left of her.

"Listen Miss..." Her expression changed. Her eyes frantically roamed over the young blonde in hope of some recognition. Her eyes went wide for a split second when the older woman realized that the annoying blonde was not from her town. "Who the h-"

"Here's you hot cocoa with cinnamon sprinkled on the top." The waitress said in a cheery voice and walked away with hips swaying. The brunette rolled her eyes at this. 'Of course the dogs always in heat.' She thought and returned to the emerging problem. The young blonde in front of her had shifted back to her drink and now seemed to be tuning out the rest of the world. The brunette beauty took a deep breath and closed her eyes before putting on her best politician persona-she refused to ever call it charm, for personal reasons- and tapped the blondes shoulder ready to persuade the girl out of her town.

The blonde turned around to the same lady who was determined on ruining her day. "We haven't been introduced." The brunette said in a overly sweet voice that was so fake it made Emma want to cringe. "I'm Regina Mills, and I'm the mayor of this town."

She holds out her hands, but Emma turned away back to her hot beverage. "I feel bad for the town if it's being run by you." It infuriated Regina that the blonde didn't even try to say in a low breath, but instead said it clear as day for anyone to hear.

If the day couldn't get worst for the small town mayor the sound of the diner door opening and a small sound of a clank of a cane hitting the floor followed by a smug old man with it; disastrously, walking in the direction of the young infuriating blonde and the cold hearted mayor. This didn't go unnoticed by the youthful golden locked woman. Her shifted to the new ominous presence that made her want to run.

"Hello dearie, I heard you were new in town, and well..." The old man took a moment to pause just to relish in pissing the brunette off. "Let's just say I run a small pawn shop on maine street, and there not a lot of people here, and do you what that means-"

"That it should stay that wa-" Regina tried interrupting, but before she could finish her witty sarcastic speech on why the blonde should take a one way ticket back to wherever she came from, the man cut her off as quickly as she started.

"That means most everyone here has a stable job, and sadly that leaves me with no one to help around the shop." He gives a smile that makes one woman sneer and the other shiver. "And that's where you come in. Since it's so nice to have a fresh face in Storybrooke, especially a youthful one like yours, I'd like to ask you if you would be interested in working at my shop." Before the blonde had time to decline, politely or not, the man held up his index finger and waved it to stop the young woman from declining. "Ah, ah, and before you say no, the pay is two hundred per week." The young fair skinned blonde jaw slacked in disbelief. Emma looked over to the older brunette, who had been listening the entire time, looking angrier than before.

"You don't even know her name. For all we know she could be some con-woman or petty thief." The brunette's voice raising beyond the normal inside voice, and rightfully so, or at least in her mind it was. Regina had worked for her happy ending for some imp and a raggedy intruder to ruin it. She's been through hell and back, and in that time she worked with her own sweat and blood for everything she had here, but now... now things were at risk. She enjoyed her orderly routine, even if tedious, but as soon as she saw the blonde it arises something deep within. A feeling that terrified her. She had gotten so use to her monotonous life, that her feelings were dull with a lack of excitement, but this girl, this frustrating blonde had, within a minute, made her blood boil with enthralling energy; and that right there, the felting feeling of animation that stirred a deep aching of a lost feeling, that out right petrified the fearsome woman.

"Now Ms. Mills you can't possibly be accusing my good judgment on people, but I guess you do have point. I should know the name of Storybrooke's new resident, and as you, seeing as your the mayor and all. By the way you have to tell me, and of course our new friend, about how you became the mayor." He smirked knowingly, and Regina had a brief panic, but shook it off as paranoia. "So dearie I'm Mr. Gold, and seeing as you already met Ms. Mills, we're all waiting expectantly for your name."

Emma took a deep breath and held out her hand. "Emma. Emma Swan." Her mind was racing with different thoughts. This job could keep her stable for awhile. And an opportunity like this doesn't roll around like this every day. Even if the old man, Mr. Gold, gave her stomach a unsettling feeling, she needed this job. "And I think I would love to work for you." Mr. Gold took Emma's hand with a tug at his lips.

"Emma." He says that even Regina would called borderline paedophilia. "What a lovely name. Well then Emma I'll see you 8:00 a.m sharp tomorrow." Satisfied with that the old man strolled away with a hop in his step.


	3. Chapter 3

Regina Mills stormed out of the diner, her diner, furiously. ' _Who does that damn brat think she is? No, no, who she is, is more important.'_ No one has ever entered her town. As it should be. No one could; it was impossible. No one could leave and no new person could enter, but yet... yet that infuriating blonde had just whipped in with the hideous yellow deathtrap of hers, and acted like it was nothing. Regina was in such foul mood that she hadn't noticed red headed cowardly man, if she could even call him that, was speaking to her with his Dalmatian beside him.

"Madame Mayor are you listening?" He asked and waved his hand in front of her face. _'Uhg I should've squashed him when I had the chance.'_ But truth be told, Archie was the only one she went to see when she was at a low point in her life. That making him the person she, pathetically, talked to most of the time. Though that was his job. Then again she gave him that job.

"Oh yes, Sorry my mind was occupied with some emerging matters." She gave her typical politician smile. "What were you saying?"

"It's fine." He smiled and readjusted his top button on his coat. "I was asking about the clock tower." He pointed up towards the clock tower which was right on top of the unused library.

"What about the clock tow-" She let the word die on her lips as she figured out the answer. "I have to go." She looks over to the ginger on her right. "The emerging matter I was telling was telling you about, well I remembered something that made it even more pressing." With that she swiftly walked away with her heels clicking in to the ground.

When she arrived she flipped the phone open and started dialing Sydney. As annoying as the man was he was just as easy to manipulate. "Sydney this is Regina speaking." Her voice was harsh and cutting. She didn't wait for the typical merger response, and went straight to the point. "I want you to investigate a person. This Emma Swan who recently arrived in town." She clicked the end button without waiting for him to comply, he would follow her straight off a cliff without so much as a complaint.

The next hours for Regina had passed insanely slow with each tick of the clock tearing a piece off of her already blackened shredded soul. She thought about calling Graham, but that ship had long sailed before today. She couldn't stand the lifeless dull look in his eyes when they use to be filled with such vibrant sparks of emotions. The anger mixed in with the lust would fill Regina's mind with dirty thoughts and deeds, but in the last eighteen years all of it was filled with complete acceptance, even if there was no desire. After the fifth time that he looked away to avoid Regina's eye during her unfulfilling climax, she kicked him out with a good tongue lashing and told him never to set foot on her property again, unless invited. She had tried in the recent years, but it was still no good. The only release she ever got was when she would stoop to touch herself, but even then she had to admit it was better then most of the residents in Storybrooke.

She looked up at the clock and sighed. It was past midnight and all of the workers have gone home. Her mind filled with dark emerald green eyes and golden curls. Regina had only met the ginger once and yet she was already under her skin. _'It just because she's a threat to your happy ending.'_ Even as she told herself that, she could feel her hand sliding down her skirt. She soon rolled her chair back and opened up her legs. She circled her nub slowly with one hand and let the other drift more downwards. She eventually slipped in two digits and began to work. At first she started slow, but soon quickened the pace. Her one hand left the nub and started to play with her nipple form under her shirt and bra. Rolling the hard nipple between her knuckles, she let out a soft moan of pleasure. The whole time imaging a young blonde do it to her. Someone, if you counted her age and added eighteen years too, who she could probably be her grandmother. She wanted to scold herself for her perversely weird lecherous behavior, but still couldn't, wouldn't, let the images go. The young blonde crawling on her knees to please her queen. Making the young woman cry out her own name in a mix of pleasure and pain. Fucking her in till she couldn't remember her own name. She felt her climax near, helped with the thoughts of a young blonde, as she finally did herself undone with a satisfied moan.

She straightened her skirt out and began packing her stuff. All while a malicious grin came onto her face. She had made a decision. She was going to seduce the blonde and keep her as a pet to play with. She walked out of city hall feeling like she had gotten her evil spark back.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma tossed and turned in her bed before finally giving up and getting out of bed. She had the same strange dream from the night before. 'Damn I wish I could remember their faces.' The faces of both brunettes had again been blurred. She found it strange that it happened the exact way as last time. The crying long haired brunette and the oddly curious darker brunette. Then the change of scenery. She was no longer in a falling apart castle, but instead a warm room with the curious brunette and the other one gone. The sexy brunette would stalk over to her with an evil smirk. Emma shook her head as she scolded herself for having another fucked up wet dream, and on top of that still think about it afterwards.

She winced slightly has the brush tore apart two golden curls tangled together. Her was always getting tangled. She remembers teachers and other adult figures in her life telling her it was a nasty rat's nest.

She glanced at the clock on the side dresser. '7:44, Great only sixteen minutes until your new job Swan.' She rushed the rest of her makeup and hair before hurrying out the door down the small staircase, towards the diner, and out the door.

Luckily Mr. Gold's pawn shop was barely a block away. She swung the door open and made her way in. The place desolate of people, but made it up with different antiquities. Emma ran her hand along a dusty wooden shelf, but unfortunately her hand tipped over one of the smaller vases. She quickly went in action and dived in before the case hit the ground. She ended up lying on my back with the vase loosely tucked between my arm and side. In her line of sight she could see a large square object teetering off the edge of the very top shelf before giving in and flying smack down to only miss Emma by a few centimeters. It landed with a large thud with a puff a dust soon after. _'Geez this place really does need to be cleaned.'_

"Miss Swan it seems that your right on time." The voice startled Emma into jumping and hastily puts the vase back. "Keep it up and you might just become a permeating resident in our... unique little town." He chuckled oddly at the last part of the sentence, but Emma chose to ignore because, hey money is money.

"Um, Yeah thanks." She says as she swipes the dust off her pants. "Uhh, Sorry about the vase. It fell, but luckily I caught it in time." Her voice was meek in the attempt to make a good impression, and not to say any dumbass things. She looked down at floor nervously, before seeing the large object before lying on the ground. It was fairly large book with a brown leather cover with golden letter sleeping out the words 'Once Upon a Time'.

She felt a strange pull to it as she slowly began to bend over and let her fingers grace over the cover edge. She picked it up and carefully began looking through the pages. Emma felt a tug at the book and looked up to see Mr. Gold hand on the edge of the book.

"Huh, I've never see this book before." He said curiously as he the book left Emma and went to him. A slow smile spread across his face as he flipped through a couple a pages. "Tell you what, since I have never seen this before, I'll give it to you as... let's say a welcome to town present. How's that sound?" Her extended the book back to her.

Emma's eyes fluttered back and forth between the book and her new boss. She wasn't much of a reader, but she didn't want to be rude. "Thanks." She took the book crime the old man's hands.

"Great let's get to work, shall we?" Mr. Gold said with a smile and began showing her new job. He gave her a simple set of rules that applied to most things in life like respect his privacy and always talk to him before doing something not already instructed. He also had a long list of things the blonde shouldn't mess with.

The day flew by with great ease. She mostly swept the floor an dusted different antiquities. For the most part she was really beginning to think she had hit jackpot. When she finished dusting and cleaning she was free to go.

It was around lunch time that she finished up work. The blonde quickly put up the cleaning supplies and made her way down main street with her new book tucked between her arm. She was mostly consumed by thought that she didn't notice that someone was trying to get her attention until she felt a harsh grab at her arm.

"Miss Swan!" A sharp voice called out and she snapped her head to see the lady from before looking still murderous as hell.

"Umm... Hi?" She didn't really know what to say. The woman was rude as all get out, and people don't change over night.

"Hi? That's all you have to say?" Regina asked incredously. "I've been trying to get your attention for over a minute now." The older woman took a deep breath and pinched her nose. "Listen I think we might've started out on the wrong foot. I realized that I was maybe too harsh. So will you let me make it up to you by buying you dinner? I would really like to start over again." Ping, Ping, Ping! The loud bells went off in her head. Emma had a superpower. She could always tell when someone is lying, and this woman right her was setting off so many sirens.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm really good." She smiles politely and tries to walk away, but brunette grabs her again.

"It just one dinner and I'll be paying." The brunette insisted, but Emma struggled to free herself from the iron grip holding her. "Please it would really put my heart at ease." Ping.

"No I'm really good." She finally tugged free and made a dash for it. Leaving a pissed brunette behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

_"No I'm really good." She finally tugged free and made a dash for it. Leaving a pissed brunette behind her._

Emma had almost reached the end of the sidewalk before it made a turn, but unfortunately heard the persistent woman yell again. "Miss Swan I think I have something you might want to hear!" The brunette called out with a little annoyance in her voice.

Emma's inner lie detector didn't go off, so she she begrudgingly turned around. "One meal and that's it." She sighed. She couldn't give up free info for nothing, and especially when it came with dinner, but she still definitely didn't come close to remotely trusting this strange woman. Her personality seems to change too quickly. One minute she's about to blow a gasket and the next she's pretending to be nice. Either she was majorly bipolar or the woman was hiding something and Emma was getting in the way. And right now she was betting on the latter.

"See Miss Swan I knew you would warm up to me." Regina smirked. By the end of the day the girl would be eating out of the palm of her hand.

"Just remember your paying." The blonde rolled her eyes and continued to walk. Only knowing the the other woman was following by the sound of clicking heels behind her.

The walk brief, silent, and most of making the blonde extremely anxious. If she was nervous before about the talk then right now she would be surprised if freaked out and fainted. It's like a rollercoaster, you see the ride and think to yourself how awesome it is, but at the pit of your stomach you can feel the uneasiness lurking. It only gets worse from there. In the lines you have more time to judge and analyze the ride more, making the ride ten times the scarier then beforehand. And then finally when you get strapped in, and your making your way up slowly with a incessant clicking sound, and when you make it towards the very top there's a brief stop before your finally stomach drops with the the rollercoaster giving you a weightless feel.

That's how Emma felt with Regina right now. She was on her way to the diner to have a conversation for which she had no clue what is was to be about. With each step she could hear the imaginary clicks going off in her head until the real ride started. The way the older woman walked with confidence, sophistication, and arrogance was all but making her feel comfortable and confident, but she refused to give in to letting her win and showing her weakness.

By the time they had arrived at the diner and slid in one of the booths, Regina was bursting the with confidence. The girl was good at not showing her true emotions, she'll give her that, but she was definitely not good enough for her. Regina was the master at manipulation. So of course she could spot the young little thing's nervousness. She could see the girl look out of the corner of her eye gazing nervously at her and their surroundings. The nervous twitch of the finger and the sharp intakes of her breath. She could see all the tiny signs.

"So what is it you wanted to tell me Madam Mayor." The blonde asked in a cold voice.

"Well dear you see as being the mayor things get quite busy around the office, and I'm interested in a new secretary." The Mayor lied. "And I thought you might be interested."

"I already have a job." The Mayor let out a throaty chuckle at this.

"Dear that job could literally have you bankrupt by the end of next month." Regina said bluntly. "I mean seriously two hundred dollars isn't even a passing minimum wage. Do you have any other job experience, and if so then you must have gotten screwed over a lot." The older woman said with a taunting smirk.

It's true Emma didn't have any real job experience, unless thievery suddenly counted as a job. She did have some extra dough stashed away she was currently using until she got her paycheck, but how long was that going to last.

"Miss Swan I can assure you if you have any doubts that the job is rather simple and you'll get your money. A good amount of cash at that to boot." The brunette beauty felt like a puppet master. Pulling all the right strings.

Emma nervously bit her lip. A fresh start she reminded herself. "...Fine." She says begrudgingly, but quickly adds. ""I'll work there for a week until my paycheck arrives, and if it is truly better than working with Mr. Gold then I'll stay."

"You won't regret this." Regina says in silky politician voice. "Now let's order.

"I already am." The blonde mutters, not truly prepared for the week ahead of her.


End file.
